January 15, 1962
In his press conference today, President Kennedy is asked if US troops are fighting in Vietnam. He says "no". The answer is "technically" accurate since no American combat troops have yet been sent to Southeast Asia.
US military advisers (soldiers & airmen) are, however, serving alongside the South Vietnamese army & air force.
January 15, 1929
Martin Luther King, Jr. is born in Atlanta, Georgia. The son of a Baptist minister, King will be influenced by Mohandas Gandhi & will become the leader of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s & 1960s.
My daughter, Jennifer, visits Dr. King's birthplace in Atlanta
King, like Gandhi, will advocate "non-violent resistance". He will give his greatest sermon at the 1963 March On Washington when he will say: "I have a dream."
President Kennedy welcomes Dr. King & other leaders of the movement to the Oval Office with the words "I have a dream."
January 15, 1870
With the publication of today's Harper's Weekly, Thomas Nast's political cartoon entitled "A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion" represents the 1st recorded use of a donkey to represent the Democratic Party.
January 15, 1559
Elizabeth Tudor, 25 year old daughter of King Henry VIII & Anne Boleyn, is crowned Queen of England at Westminster Abbey in London.
Queen Elizabeth I, called the "Virgin Queen" because she chooses not to marry, encourages voyages of discovery such as Sir Francis Drake's circumnavigation of the world & Sir Walter Raleigh's expeditions to North America.
In her final address to Parliament before her death in 1603, she says:
"I count the glory of my crown that I have reigned with your love."
